The invention refers in the first place to a heat storage medium for a latent heat accumulator or a latent cold accumulator, such as paraffin, which solidifies by forming crystal structures.
Latent heat accumulators are known to serve for effectivity-increasing temporal uncoupling of heat or cold generation and subsequent heat or cold consumption. Uncoupling permits long, continuous running times of heat or cold generators with high efficiencies and low start-up, shut-down and standstill costs. They are used, for instance, in plant for heat generation from solar energy or from fossile energy sources, but in addition also in cooling cycles.
Regarding prior art, reference is made e.g. to DE-A1 27 41 829. It is known therefrom to use for heat storage medium in a latent heat accumulator quantities of paraffin enclosed within a plastic envelope. Those plastic envelopes in turn are in an accumulator vessel filled with water. Heat transfer on such latent heat accumulators is merely by heat conduction through the plastic envelope to the paraffin. Such accumulators are referred to as static accumulators.
Furthermore, so-called dynamic latent heat accumulators are known, in which context reference is made e.g. to DD 23 68 62 and DD 28 01 13. As far as prior art is concerned, further reference should be made to DE-A1 41 22 659. In this connection, it is considered of disadvantage that the heat storage medium such as paraffin is only difficult to intersperse by the heat transfer medium, perhaps evaporating water or an alcohol-based liquid. This causes delays in response of the latent heat accumulator on heat input.